Pulaski, TN – In a game that saw nine lead changes and five ties, the UC women's basketball team couldn't overcome a late run as they fell to UT Southern 79-70 Thursday night.  With the win the Firehawks improve to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play, while the Patriots move to 5-4 and 1-2 against the MSC.

Destiny Haworth led the way for UC with a game-high 19 points, on 6-9 shooting from beyond-the-arc.  Abbi Douglas added 15 points and three rebounds, while Lillie Hall finished with 13 points on 5-8 shooting.  Reagan Begole tied her season-high with eight rebounds to go along with three assists and two blocks, while Kassie Monday added eight points and four assists.  

The Patriots opened the game strong as Destiny Haworth and Kassie Monday each hit from deep to give UC a 6-2 advantage two minutes into the game.  The Firehawks went on an 11-1 run, that spanned five minutes, before Lillie Hall converted a three-point play to cut the deficit to 13-10 with 3:54 left.  Hall hit a jumper before Abbi Douglas laid it a shot to give the Patriots a 7-0 run and a 14-13 lead with 56 seconds remaining.  UT Southern added a pair of late free throws to take a 15-14 edge after the opening period.

Cumberlands came out strong in the second quarter opening the period on a 6-0 run, that was capped off by a Reagan Begole offensive rebound a put back to give Cumberlands a 20-15 lead just over a minute in.  Haworth netted Cumberlands next four points keep the Patriots lead at 24-18 with 6:25 remaining. The Firehawks went on a 9-0 run, before Sydney Dalton hit a layup to cut the deficit to 26-27 with 2:07 left.  Douglas added a bucket in the closing seconds of the half as UT Southern took a 30-28 lead into the break.

UC came out of the break strong as Haworth and Douglas hit back-to-back threes to give the Patriots a 34-30 lead.  Cumberlands utilized an 8-2 run that featured a pair of buckets from Lewis to extend their lead to 42-33 with 7:04 remaining.  Two minutes late, UT Southern cut the lead to four points, however, Haworth's strong shooting from deep continue as she pushed the lead to 45-38 midway through the third quarter.  The Firehawks went on an 11-3 run to take a 49-48 lead, before Kassie Monday added a layup to put Cumberlands back in front.  The Firehawks added five unanswered as Kassie Monday drained a three from the corner to cut the deficit to 54-53 after three quarters.

The Firehawks quickly extended their lead to six points to open the fourth quarter but UC responded as Hall drained a three to keep it a one-possession game.  Not even a minute later, Kassie Monday dished it out to Haworth, who hit from long range to even the score 59-59 with 6:58 remaining.  The game was tied two more times as the teams traded baskets before the Firehawks used a 7-0 run to take a 74-66 edge with 2:28 remaining.  Lewis added a couple buckets in the final minutes but it wasn't enough as UT Southern held on for the 79-70 final.

The Patriots will return to the court Saturday, December 4, when they travel to Marietta, GA to face Life.  Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. with live stats available here and live video available here.

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